


Vow of the Lion

by Treblereble15



Series: friends, family and other wonderful things [4]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Berwald is a great big brother and he loves his baby brothers, Big brother Sweden au, Child Abuse, Gen, I have so many ideas for this fanfic, I promise it'll get happy real fast, Parental Death, baby denmark, it's just mainly the first two chapters that are really dark/sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-15 19:44:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18676216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treblereble15/pseuds/Treblereble15
Summary: "It was also around this time that he made a vow;He’d make sure to protect his brothers and do everything he could to get them out of that house as soon as he physically could."Berwald has had a lot balancing on his plate from an early age, but he didn't give a damn since it ensured he and his little brothers were safe and sound.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I've been coming up with ideas for this au since early April or so and have been going back and forth with constellation_composer and finally have gotten the inspiration to write this up. 
> 
> Note: Things will improve for these boys soon.
> 
> Ages:  
> Berwald-14/15  
> Lukas-10  
> Emil- 4/5  
> Matthias- 0, he just arrived. Made an entrance that no one can forget, dramatic lil shit.

      **~June 05, 2000~**

Had you asked Berwald Hansen when he woke up that morning that his family’s lives were going to change later that afternoon, he would of scoffed and told you that you had no idea what you were talking about. However, there he sat around a quarter to 1 pm in the hospital waiting room alongside his two younger brothers. Their father had been allowed in the emergency surgery room with their mother as the c-section was performed to deliver their baby brother. Only an hour ago they had rushed out of the house when their mother suddenly experienced strong and painful contractions and saw blood between her legs. Since she was a month and a week or so from her due date, the symptoms that she showed were alarming; Berwald had done some research when he was told about the pregnancy. He was aware there were high chances of complication due to their age, and he was concerned not only for the baby’s sake but also for his mother. He was only 14 years old, so there was only so much he could do to help, but keeping his younger siblings calm and safe was the main priority at that moment.

 

     It felt like years had passed before a nurse came back and called out their name, alerting them that everything was over; Lukas and Emil had cheered beside him and eagerly got up, but Berwald was frozen in place when he saw her expression. _Oh no…._ He felt his breath hitch before shaking his head and walked over to the woman with clenched fists. The woman tried to give them a warm smile, but her eyes showed her sympathy and sadness about the news she bared. “Boys, there is someone your father wants you to meet. I’ll take you to the NICU.”   
This is what caught Lukas’s attention, “Wait, what about our mom? And what’s the NICU?”   
     “Your mother lost too much blood in delivery. We did everything we could but your father insisted we save your brother.” The nurse looked away from them, a hand fiddling with her scrub top showing her distress of the situation. Emil seemed to gravitate towards Berwald and he was quick to stroke his hair, silently pulling Lukas to him as well as he swallowed the lump that was crawling up his throat. He blinked back hot tears and nodded gruffly at the nurse before looking down at the scuffed tile floors beneath his shoes, “Take us to them, please.” He murmured.

 

    The nurse nodded and began to lead them through the labyrinth of hallways, bobbing and weaving between gurneys and doctors and other hospital personnel before stopping in front of a long windowed room. Inside, near the back, Berwald could see their father sat beside an incubator, his shoulders shaking with his face in his hands. The young teen jumped in alarm when he and his brothers were nudged towards the door, the nurse wiping her cheek and gave them a watery smile, “Go to him, you have a little brother to meet.” She said before once again nudging them forwards. Berwald took the initiative and opened the door, wincing at the sound of machines whirring and babies crying or making other noises as they timidly made their way over to their weeping father. At first the man didn’t notice them but after a few seconds, he peered up and saw his sons before him. His eyes were red and puffy and his cheeks decorated in tear tracks as he attempted a smile, but it came out forced and cracked.

     “Boys, meet your baby brother. Matthias Christian Hansen.” He choked on the name, more tears slipping down his cheeks as he covered his face once more, refusing to look at the newest member of the family. When Berwald heard Matthias’s middle name, he choked as well, his eyes big and tears dangerously close to exposing themselves on his face. Why had Dad changed the agreed name of Anders to their mother’s middle name? His mind went on a downward spiral as he continued to think, only being shaken from his thoughts when a small but shrill wail filled the air. He walked closer to the incubator and finally got a good look at his new brother. He was incredibly tiny, his fingers and toes almost see through and his eyes almost too big for his face. He was so tiny the ankle band was around his thigh and most likely would fit on Berwald’s thumb. Just seeing the sheer size of the baby made something hot burn in his chest- this kid couldn’t protect himself, he was weak and needed extra care but if he survived the delivery, then he was stubborn. Even though Matthias was so small, Berwald thought he was the cutest thing ever.

 

     “Some birthday present, huh?” Lukas whispered, on the other side of the incubator as he stuck a sanitized hand into the incubator at the nurse’s allowance. His deep blue eyes were glassy but he did have a watery smile on his face, clearly distraught about their mother but also very excited Matthias was finally there. Berwald silently asked for some hand sanitizer before reaching a hand in as well and gently stroked Matthias’s cheek, allowing what Lukas said wash over him- His birthday was tomorrow. He was going to be 15, and later that month Emil would be turning 5. For a brief few moments, Berwald’s heart swelled with joy but all joy dissipated when he suddenly realized that his mother _died_ the day before his 15th birthday. She’d never see any of them graduate high school, or see Matthias grow up or ...or...

 

       Tears finally burst from his eyes as he bit his lip, body shaking as sobs wracked through his body. It was all just too much for him and at some point after he broke down, his brothers soon followed. The nurse gently led them out of the room and back to the waiting room where the rest of their immediate family now were gathered, one half of the people crying due to the loss of their mother. Their mother’s brother, Aldrich, was quick to approach the boys, kneeling and pulled all three of them into his strong arms as they continued to bawl like babies into his shirt.

“I’m sorry....I’m so sorry…” He whispered gently to them, keeping them close even as his own children came to try and comfort their grieving cousins.

* * *

 

 

The next month the brothers spent any and all spare time in the NICU visiting Matthias, watching his condition improve drastically. They often had panicked when they noticed that Matthias was never where he was the last time they saw him until the head nurses of the NICU told them that since Matthias was what they called a “grower and a feeder”, that he didn’t need machines like the others and so they’d show him to couples who wanted to see what a premature baby looked like. Indeed, the youngest Hansen managed to get all the nurses and staff in the unit to fall in love with him and his already showing personality. Berwald could easily and fondly recall one visit where Matthias’s main night nurse all but stormed over to them and declared that they had their hands full with him, saying “I’ve never seen a few day old baby lift their head and turn it to face the opposite way before!”. When asked, she elaborated a story that had the three boys laughing. Apparently, after Matt had been fed and changed, he was placed on his stomach facing a wall to the left of him and a blanket was draped on top of the incubator to make it dark so he could sleep. To his right, however, some nurses were discussing something and the baby clearly wanted to face the people to ‘hear’ it better. Thus making his nurse flip out when she later checked on him and his head was facing the right of him.

 

Before they knew it, Matthias was home with them and despite having all members of the family suffer from an around the clock feeding schedule-every 3 hours- he flourished under the love of his big brothers. Before they knew it, Matthias was an adorably chubby, bright-eyed, freckle-faced 6 month-year-old with strawberry blonde curls. Despite the exceptional health of the youngest son, their father seemed to deteriorate both emotionally and mentally and it got to the point that Berwald couldn’t recall a time of the day where he wasn’t drunk off his ass laying on the couch or yelling at them or screaming at poor Matthias. It was also around this time that he made a vow;

_He’d make sure to protect his brothers and do everything he could to get them out of that house as soon as he physically could._


	2. Runaways and guardianship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Berwald finally had enough with dealing with their father's abuse and after being knocked out and all four left alone as he goes out barhopping, he takes them to their uncle Aldrich's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages:  
> Berwald: 17/18  
> Lukas: 12/13  
> Emil: 7/8  
> Matthias: 2/3
> 
> Edited on June 10,2018

**~** **May 06, 2003~**

* * *

 

_Screaming, crying, pain throbbing through his head…_

 

_Where was he?_

 

_What was going on?_

 

_Where were his brothers and were they okay?_

 

_There’s something warm and wet on the side of his head and there were three sets of hands in various sizes shaking him. Voices crying and begging for him, bodies pressed against his. Everything was a nauseating blur until there was a door. Someone, not him, knocks on it and a tall man answers with concern written all over his face and before he realizes it, his face is buried in the soft fabric of a pajama shirt._

 

_Still, the tendrils of dread squeezed his heart._

 

Berwald all but shot up, gasping for breath as he wiped his head around in a poor attempt of gathering his surroundings. What few blobs he could make out, he knew they weren’t his room, and judging by the lack of stench of alcohol, he wasn’t home. Taking a deep shuddery breath, he rubbed the cold sweat off his brow with his wrist as he sensed bodies in the bed with him. Judging by the soft snoring and mumbling, the two on either side of him were Lukas and Emil. That made sense, there weren’t enough guest rooms for all three to have one to themselves so they agreed to share; How? Berwald would never know. However, one body was yet to be identified, and that one was now in his lap. Leaning forwards, the teenager could just barely make out the freckled and bruised face of his baby brother. The toddler winced in his sleep as Berwald’s thumb gently stroked his cheek, the elder frowning as guilt tugged at his heartstrings.

Matthias had been sleeping in Lily’s room since they were both around the same age, but he had woken up from a nightmare and so he joined his brothers. It wasn’t like his brothers didn’t want him in the bed with them every night, they honestly did, but they had school and Matthias was grumpy if woken up when they got ready. Matt let out a whine in his sleep and Berwald carefully scooped him up and laid back down, laying him down on his chest and got comfortable once more. He hummed softly to distract himself from thinking about what had happened. Matthias immediately snuggled his face into Berwald’s neck, his fists grabbing ahold of his shirt as he sighed in contentment. The teenager felt a fond smile appear on his face as he faintly felt the all too familiar sensation of what they had deemed Matthias's "sleepy butt wiggles"; It was something that the youngest had been doing to help himself sleep ever since he was an infant, and it never ceased to make his family members smile at how cute it was.

 

Sensing all his brothers were relaxed and in a deep sleep once more, Berwald let out a sigh before thinking back to his dream...or nightmare? It was more like a memory, but everything was so fuzzy and disconnected that it didn’t feel as such. It had been a week ago when Berwald took his brothers and ran away to their uncle Aldrich’s house for safety. Ber had been beaten by their father into unconsciousness in attempt to keep their father- who was already nearly piss drunk- from beating up the others. His fight had been in vain because when he came to, all three carried bruising all over their bodies and Matt and Emil were nearing hysterics. His body had moved in auto pilot as he bandaged the boys up and reluctantly let Lukas do the same for him before he ordered him to go pack whatever he could of theirs. An hour later they were on the front steps of Aldrich’s house and since he was still weak and sore from the beating he received, Lukas had taken it upon himself to knock, one arm around Emil since the poor kid was falling asleep on his feet. Matthias was asleep in Berwald’s arms, drooling against his shoulder, but jolted awake when the door opened. Immediately their uncle hounded them for answers as to why they were there, but all he got for answers were four boys crying their eyes out and clinging to him like scared children- which they were. In that week, the physical injuries had healed, except for a few on Matthias which had been really bad, but the four were still struggling with dealing with what they had lived through the past 2 years.

 

Berwald glanced at the alarm clock and let out a sigh before carefully reaching over Lukas’s sleeping form to blindly grab his glasses so he could at least look at the ceiling with better vision. Feeling the familiar weight on his nose, he sighed softly before laying down properly before wracking his brain for ideas on what to do. He had recalled reading about a situation similar to his own and his interest had piqued when it mentioned that in certain cases, the adult sibling could adopt the children to get them away from their parents. He made a mental note to go to the library and search for more information later that day.

 ~ _Several hours later~_

“Wait, wait wait- you’re saying you’re going to try and  _adopt_ us?” Lukas had spit out his juice and Emil and the other younger kids were looking between them with confusion while the two toddlers were throwing food at each other. Berwald sipped his coffee before nodding, taking a bite of his toast, “Ja, I’m going to be an adult in a month and I’ve kept records of everything Dad has done to us for the past few years. From what I read, I should be able to get custody easily enough if I get a good lawyer.” He shrugged, before glancing at Ludwig, who was currently fussing and running from the sink to the two highchairs with a washcloth; At first he had been very upset about them all being there and attention being put on Matthias, but he quickly was wrapped around his little finger and was probably Matt’s fourth favorite person. He chuckled and shared an amused look with the older of his cousins and his uncle before he was suddenly knocked out of his chair and a crying Lukas was hugging him tightly. Poor Berwald’s eyes were wide in surprise and momentarily couldn’t move but soon had Lukas wrapped in a tight hug, murmuring comforting phrases despite knowing his brother’s tears were of happiness and not sadness. Despite not having all the details figured out, Berwald was even more motivated to set his plan in motion.

 

* * *

 **~September 20, 2003 ~**  

Several months of paperwork and court hearings took up Berwald's life, but then it changed for the best. On one warm autumn afternoon, Berwald walked out of the courtroom with his hands behind his back whilst holding back an overjoyed smile as he walked towards his family when his eyes met his little brothers’ immediately. Lukas and Emil gave him hopeful looks and his facade split in half as a bright and excited smile spread across his face as he nodded vigorously and held the papers where they could see them across the room. Lukas and Emil’s eyes widened and huge smiles graced their faces before they sprinted over to their big brother with little Matthias running after them, hugging him tightly as they all let the feelings of joy, excitement, and _hope_ wash over them. They’d get a fresh start, away from their asshole of a father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added the sleepy butt wiggles because I had it written into the skeleton of this whole fic and yet forgot to mention it. The wiggles is based on what I did as a kid to help me fall asleep if sucking my thumb and cuddling my baby blanket didn't work. I figured that it was really cute and ran the idea by my lil helper and he loved it so.... Yeah. 
> 
> ALSO! I finally calculated exactly when the boys were born in order to accurately state and write their ages.


	3. Finding Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Normally Lukas could sleep through the night and never wake up; Normally he wouldn’t wake up, even if something was wrong- that was Berwald’s job. However, it was that same brother’s presence- or lack of- that was what woke Lukas up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages:  
> Berwald: 18  
> Lukas: 13  
> Emil:8  
> Matthias: 3

  **~October 12, 2003~**

* * *

 

Normally Lukas could sleep through the night and never wake up; Normally he wouldn’t wake up, even if something was wrong- that was Berwald’s job. However, it was that same brother’s presence- or lack of- that was what woke Lukas up. He glanced at the clock and saw it was 2 am. His brows furrowed in confusion before glancing at either side of him were Matthias and Emil lay fast asleep. Emil was curled into a ball, taking up all space that Berwald normally took, and Matthias, sweet Matthias, was asleep with his butt in the air and thumb in his mouth. The elder blond bit his lip to keep from laughing before gently tucking the two boys in better. He froze when he heard raised voices come from downstairs, his eyes widening when he recognized Berwald, Gilbert, and their uncle. As sneakily as he could, Lukas slipped out of bed, gently scooting Emil closer to Matt so neither of them sensed that both older brothers were gone, knowing that if that occurred both young boys were likely to start screaming and crying.

Sneaking down the stairs was harder than the 13-year-old anticipated but he still made a futile attempt in being unheard. However, all his work was for nothing when he stepped on an old creaky board and the sound that split the silence effectively ceased all arguing.

“Luke, I know you’re there. To back t’ bed.” Berwald sighed, walking out of the kitchen where he and the other two males had been conversing. He stood at the foot of the stairs with a tired expression as he ran a hand through his hair, tired blue-green eyes meeting his brother’s indigo ones. Naturally, the teenager was stubborn and simply crossed his arms and fixed his legal guardian with a fixed glare, mouth in a scowl as well.

“No way, what’s going on and why aren’t you guys in bed?” He asked, motioning with his head towards the kitchen before closing the gap between him and Berwald by going down the rest of the stairs, now looking up at him defiantly.

Berwald ran a hand down his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose before sighing, “Adult stuff, okay? Please return to bed.”

“No! Ber, I’m the second oldest and I want to know what’s wrong. I’m a teenager, I’m only five years younger than you. I want to know what’s going on.” He replied, a bit redundant due to still waking up. That argument caused the eldest to give in, simply shaking his head and grumbled a ‘follow me’ before heading to the kitchen and began preparing a mug for hot cocoa since he was NOT giving him coffee.  Lukas was excited to be included in adult discussions but when his Uncle and older cousin fixed him with confused looks, he shrank in on himself, feeling awkward and self-conscious. Thankfully, Big brother Berwald came to his rescue.

“He deserves to discuss this as well, it’s involving him and he’s a teenager now.”

Neither Aldrich or Gilbert argued with that and simply motioned to the seat across from them and next to the one where Berwald was standing near. Once the cocoa was made and placed in front of the youngest, Berwald joined them, sitting beside Lukas and across from Aldrich.

“Where did we leave off?” Aldrich asked, voice tense.

“Berry Boy telling us his plan of moving out and finding his own place,” Gil replied, running a hand through his hair tiredly, clearly not really knowing why his father was digging his heels in so much. Lukas quirked a brow as he looked at Berwald incredulously, surprised that he was arguing over at an ungodly hour. His brother crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, clearly stubborn over the situation; all four of them were stubborn, it came from their mother’s side of the family, as their father liked to joke. Lukas shook his head internally, effectively stopping himself before he went down that train of thought.

“Wait, you want us to move out?” he finally asked, looking at his brother in confusion. Berwald sighed and nodded, “Yeah. It’s not fair for anyone for us to stay here for so long. Uncle already has enough children to worry about, and there’s only so much space in this house. Plus food and clothes and such.” He gave their uncle a look before looking back at Lukas,” Listen, Luke, I wouldn’t do ‘nything without thinkin’ about it. Y’know how hard I’ve been working at my job, and I’ve saved all my money since Matt was born. I’ve got enough money for cheap rent in a decent part of town near the school.”

“But what about furniture?”

“There’s such a place as Goodwill.” Berwald shrugged. Lukas pulled a face at the name, "Isn't that mainly a clothing place?"

“There are flea markets and other thrift stores in town, that’s just an example.” The elder chuckled, rolling his eyes before getting stoic and serious again, “Believe me, If I didn’t think that this was for the best, then I wouldn’t even have suggested it. But until we move out of here, the risk of _him_  coming here in search of us is getting higher and higher. And who knows what he’d do to Uncle and the others if he knew we have been here all this time.” The look in Berwald’s eyes betrayed his calm exterior, his eyes reflecting his fears and worries as he maintained eye contact. Lukas felt his blood run cold at the mental images that flashed before his eyes, picturing their enraged father drunk off his mind attacking their Uncle and cousins, mercilessly beating them like he had done to them oh so many times. A lump formed in his throat but he fixed Berwald with a steely and confident look, “I think your idea is the best.”

 

Aldrich groaned, rubbing his temples before undoing his lazy ponytail and redoing it, tucking loose strands of blonde and grey hair behind his ears. Gilbert was asleep at the table with his arms folded and head atop of them, so he was out of the count when it came to the final vote as to what they did. “Just so either of you know, I don’t like this idea, I don’t. But,” He sighed, “I will support you all I can. I understand you feel your stay is unwelcome now, but I assure you that you are always welcome.” His breath hitched and he rubbed his face, “You’re the last remainders of my sister that I have, and you four living here has allowed me to see her.” He admitted before giving both boys a tired but fond smile, reaching over and patted both of their shoulders, “I’ll take you two apartment looking later today, okay? Now go get some sleep before the sun comes up and those trouble makers of yours wake up and cause hell.”

With that all said and done, both brothers headed back upstairs after briefly watching Aldrich try and wake his eldest son, but eventually just covered him with a blanket and heard the muttering of ‘He better make breakfast when he wakes up or he’s not going to appreciate what I have to say.’ as he marched himself to his downstairs bedroom. The Hansen brothers exchanged a look of amusement before going up to their room, quietly slipping back into the queen-sized bed, situating Emil and Matthias between them both as a brother barricade of sorts.

Later that morning, Aldrich stayed true to his words, not only giving Gilbert one hell of a time for not making breakfast but also taking Berwald and Lukas out looking for apartments with good prices, helping out by putting in input on what neighborhoods were best for raising kids in, and which ones were closest to the schools the boys attended and also close to places where Berwald could work if he wanted to switch jobs. After spending most of the day looking, they came across a really nice looking place that despite being a bit on the gritty side of town, offered everything they needed and had an affordable rent rate. Berwald and Aldrich spent a while talking with the landlord and after handing over all paperwork pertaining to taxes and his income and other things that apparently Lukas missed Ber grabbing- the Landlord agreed to think about it and would call them, later on, to let them know what the final verdict was.

 

It was two weeks later that they moved into their new home, officially living in apartment 523. Aldrich and a few of their older cousins helped move some furniture they either bought or Aldrich gave to them, said items no longer being needed due to having no room for them. All donations were greatly accepted by the two humbled older brothers, though that didn’t stop Berwald from being embarrassed and sporting a beet red face for most of the day. Eventually, once they had everything moved in and unpacked, the small apartment felt more like a home and both eldest brothers were relieved to start this new part of their life.

* * *

**~November 29, 2003~**

 

Of course, living in a small apartment with four growing boys of various ages was a lot of work and at times all of them seemed overwhelmed and frustrated- even Matthias- who, usually calm and very cheerful, would throw random tantrums from the negative energy in the home. It was days like that that Berwald buckled down and took them to the nearest park, letting the gentle autumn breeze soothe his fried nerves and allow him to relax for a bit as he watched Emil and Lukas play various games with a squealing Matthias. Their hand-me-down jackets were a bit big on the two youngest, but neither seemed to care since they still functioned properly in keeping them warm.

The 18-year-old was so relaxed and zoned out that he hadn’t noticed someone sit beside him and chuckle in amusement as Matthias let out a cheerful shriek as Lukas caught him at the bottom of a slide. It was when the stranger spoke that Berwald jolted from his thoughts.

“Hey there handsome, are those kids yours?” The other blond male asked, his chocolate brown eyes twinkling playfully as he shamelessly flirted with him. The nickname caused the young adult to clam up, his face flushing and burning as his words jumbled together in a stammering mess.  “I-I uh…” He froze when he heard a sudden collision and two thuds before two wails and howls of pain grabbed his attention. He was on his feet and running across the grass and into the wood chips as he followed the sounds of his little brother’s cries of pain. Lukas was on his knees trying to console both Emil and Matthias, who were both sobbing their eyes out with runny noses.

“What happened?!” He asked worriedly, kneeling down beside the bewildered form of his immediate younger brother.

“I don’t know! I was chasing Matt who wasn’t looking where he was going and I guess Milly decided to get him from the front so next thing I know they collide.” He said, a bit panicky because he could see blood coming from both children’s faces. Berwald scrubbed a hand down his face before sitting with his legs crossed and pulled Emil into his lap and nudged Matthias in Lukas’s direction.

“Hey, buddy, what’s wrong?” He asked, carding a hand through Emil’s silvery blond locks, working on trying to soothe the eight-year-old. Seeing him cry like this was worrying, as Emil was generally at the age where he thought it wasn’t cool to cry. It took him a few minutes but after he finally reduced the sobbing to hiccups and sniffling, he carefully pried Emil’s hands from his mouth, wincing at the sight of blood. “Ya gotta open up for me to see the damage Mil.” He said gently, a hand on his cheek to keep him comforted as the child opened his mouth. It appeared that Emil bit the side of his cheek when he and Matthias made an impact and both fell to the ground, but Berwald still checked his tongue and lips to ensure no other damage was done. Once his worry was quelled, he smiled gently and kissed the top of Emil’s head, “You only bit the inside of your cheek. You’ll be fine after a few hours. It may be sore for a while though, Okay?”

Emil shut his mouth and nodded his head, rubbing his cheeks stubbornly before using his tongue to feel where he had bitten his cheek. Seeing that he was fine now, Berwald gently moved him to sit down in front of him and took the sniffling Matthias from Lukas, frowning seeing the dried blood all over Matthias’s face. “Can you grab my backpack? I have some baby wipes in there.” He asked Lukas, who was checking over Emil just in case. The younger nodded and got up, jogging over to where Berwald had been sitting with Emil following him close behind.

 

“Alright Mattie, I’m going to feel your nose, okay?”

“Okay Berber.” The toddler nodded, sitting in Berwald’s lap willingly as Berwald began to gently touch and feel his nose, searching for any breaks. There were none, but the eldest just wanted to be careful. Matthias giggled as he pinched his nose a few times, allowing the toddler to make noise and laugh at the funny way it sounded with his nose pinched and such. He looked up at the returning brothers, thanking Lukas before taking his backpack and opening it up and grabbed the wipes, pulling one out and began wiping Matt’s freckled face as the boy playfully squirmed and laughed, making disgruntled sounds only when the wipe would briefly touch his tongue- an action that made his older brothers laugh, all saying how he shouldn’t have his mouth open to begin with. When everything was cleaned up and everyone was in a good mood, Berwald stood up with Matt in his arms and brushed chips from his jeans before looking at all of his brothers, “Alright, now do we wanna play for a bit more or should we head home?” He asked, though knew that he’d get mixed reviews. Surprisingly, all three younger boys- well, two- agreed to go home, whilst the youngest of them had already begun dozing off on Berwald’s shoulder. With that, they began walking home, the two eldest brothers sharing a smile before looking down at Emil, who -despite avoiding their eyes and the blush on his cheeks- grabbed both of their hands, standing between them as they walked back in silence.

Lukas and Berwald each took a deep breath before sighing in contentment, the heavy feelings of worry and stress melting away if only for that moment that would become a cherished memory.

~~~~~

Unbeknownst to the retreating band of brothers, the brown-eyed stranger had watched the whole scene and was smiling softly to himself. He had at first thought he had scared the other blond away with his flirting but quickly realized that he was needed by his family. He wasn't fully certain on how the four were related, but he was more than aware to the fact that their family was something precious. With one last fond glance at the four, he got up and walked the opposite way home, a smile still on his face as the breeze ruffled his hair.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the stranger flirting with Berwald at the park was Finland. Tino is older than Berwald in this au, and doesn't realize that Berwald is younger than he appears. (Berber looks around 20/21 most likely due to muscle and his height)

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone has questions or suggestions for the au, go ahead and message me on tumblr!  
> @the-insane-purpleholic


End file.
